“At one point when I was in my 30’s a sweet little girl said to me ‘I love your hair, it is like glitter. It has magic in it’. I never turned back, it felt like a superpower.I went grey very early in life and the prospect of having my hair dyed every few weeks felt like a lot of time and money spent focused on my hair. At my core I am a tomboy and that focus on hair/self felt out of alignment with who I was. I preferred to spend the time/money outdoors and on adventures. My grey hair isn’t a statement, it is a reflection of what I value and who I am.”

“I first started seeing grey hair when I was 15 years old. Dyeing it seemed the logical thing to do until 2012 when I had two mini strokes in a 4 month period. My neurologist said ‘your decision.’ I went back and forth with dyeing, going natural and relaxing my hair until the end of 2017. Natural and grey now at 61. Wearing grey wigs, braids and dreadlocks too while enjoying the second half of my journey.”

"My mom found my first grey hair when I was 12 years old (I didn’t even know that was possible!!) She always warned me that I might go grey earlier than most, but I never imagined I’d be so young. As I got older, the grey patch at the very top of my head became harder and harder to cover. My lovely hair dresser convinced me to embrace it and I stopped covering my grey hair at 24. I’ve now been growing it out for 2 years, and get low lights a few times a year to help it blend more since I’m not completely grey. I am learning to embrace it more and more every day. No one ever believes that I am this grey at 26! I am a teacher and my little students are often baffled - 'you don’t even have kids yet and your hair is so grey!' I just blame them for stressing me out! But really I should blame, or rather thank, my mom!"

“Hi everyone! My name's Alex and I've been dye free since June 2017. I decided to stop dying because at the rate I was graying, I'd have to get a touch up every week. I'm super low maintenance so this was an easy decision. I was excited to go on this journey and to see who I would become and how I would look with gray hair. It's been a fabulous adventure so far. Embracing my grays has been very empowering and liberating. I've learned to accept and love my imperfections. My motto is imperfection is perfection. Feel free to ask me about my grays, keloid scars, and arthritis at a young age. We're who we are because of the things we're forced to deal with, and knowing who we truly are is a immeasurable gift to ourselves. Thank you for reading and I hope to connect with you all online and in real life!!”

“Say hello to my ‘Skunk Patch’. That’s what I call my gray patch if hair. My first handful of strands appeared when I was in high school and I would try my best to hide them. In college, more appeared and people would point them out, call me ‘old’, tell me I need to dye my hair, tell me that I’m too young to have gray hair, etc. I was so embarrassed!

I was watching tv one day and noticed there were a few celebrities that dyed their hair gray. ‘Wait... this is a thing now?! Gray hair is popular?!’

I immediately thought about my thick eyebrows ‘thickums/Caterpillars’. (Everything has a nickname ) I used to get made fun of because they were so thick and it used to bother me until I realized many of the people that were making fun of me were also using make up to fill in their eyebrows. They’re taking extra steps to take what I have, so how bad can when I have actually be?? The same thing for the people that were dying their hair. They’re dying their hair to get a look at that some of us have naturally, so why are we ashamed of it?

Our gray hair doesn’t define our youth. I learned to accept me for how I am—skunk patch, thickums, and all. ”

“My grays started showing at age 35. White roots didn't go well with Asian black hair. It required dyeing my hair every 3 weeks, at the least. I planned on going gray at age 60. But my husband’s near-death event in October, 2015 changed my perspective. As I cared for him while he recovered from a massive heart attack and a stroke, I asked myself how could I even worry about getting my hair colored while he struggled to regain his strength and energy?Once I decided to go gray, I was determined to get it done as fast as possible. In December, 2015, I got an uber-short pixie, shaved back and all. I have to wear suits for my job, and going to court rocking a reverse ombre took a lot of courage. People would literally do a second look and then they would stare for a long time at my hair. But then as the months went by, the stares changed to ‘I love your hair’, ‘What shade of color do you use, I’d like to get it, too’. Some would even come up to me and ask if they could touch my hair.It took 9 months to get rid of the color. It’s been 4 years since that first pixie/shaved hair. My hair feels soft and silky now. I still get comments that ‘You need to or you must color your hair, you’re too young to have gray hair’. But I note that they’re coming from people who are coloring their hair. And to them I say - No, thank you. I am okay with my grays and my wrinkles and my sun spots. Life is too short to worry about growing old. This is me and I am happy being me.”

“I grew up in a family where generation after generation, the women were blessed to look younger than their age, so I never really gave much thought towards going grey. Sporting dreadlocks at the age of 40, I was preparing to move out of the U.S. for a job opportunity, when a friend brought to my attention that I had “grey bits” that needed dying and offered to pay for the coloring as my going away gift. So for “fun” I took her up on it. Soon after arriving in the country I started working as a singer and felt I had to keep up with the coloring. It became a horrible burden and my locks became dry and brittle. I also faced a situation I never imagined that would be an issue: attracting the wrong type of people and not being respected because I looked younger. I was proud of my age and had no problem embracing it. With the advice of an African beautician, I cut off my damaged dreads and stopped dying my hair and I have never looked back. It’s funny, living in a country where the women are really displeased with grey hair and most are into coloring, don't really notice my grey. I think it's because I've come to see and enjoy the natural beauty of mine. It's liberating and makes me happy.”

“It is not just grey hair. It is a sagging skin, extra pounds, hot flashes, inability to hold on to my emotions and fear of becoming invisible. I still do it. I am always thinking, if others see me it will be a little easier for them to walk this walk. Also dance. I dance Argentine tango. If you don't know what is your next step should be and you are going this tough time in your life, please consider taking dance lessons. It helped me a lot, it might help you too.”

“In December 2017 I was with my husband in Ethiopia where he works.. living the expat life then everything changed.  After spending Christmas at home in Wales, I was diagnosed with throat cancer.  Thankfully it was caught very early so no Chemo but the radiotherapy was gruelling.  After being given the all clear I couldn’t wait to get back to normal.  That included, dental work and of course my then normal meant going to the hairdresser ASAP to sort out my hair colour.Every two weeks when the silvers poked out, I did think ‘should I just leave them grow out?  but  I know I looked so tired from the RT’ so I hung on to the colour. I returned to Ethiopia and on a trip to Somaliland in June 2019, I thought ENOUGH! I was now eating more healthily, I was taking better care of my skin after RT,  so why was I still putting chemicals on my head??I told my husband who said ‘go for it’ although I know he isn’t a fan of this awkward growing out stage.  My sister-in-law said to me ‘you are way too young to join the silver brigade’. Too young? I’m 60 next year!  My children are my biggest supporters always reassuring me. My daughter at 32 and like me started going grey in her 20s, is now contemplating joining me and stop colouring her hair. I now alternate between Ethiopia, where my husband is working and the UK, my home and where my children and mum are.  4 months into the grow out I now feel more comfortable and can go out without a scarf or hat. Grey hair is still seen as somewhat letting oneself go here in Ethiopia but I really don’t care. I am a little scared however of the reaction of my Sudanese mother in-law when we visit in the New Year.  Tips welcome. Beating cancer and embracing my grey makes me feel so strong. I’m an Aries so patience through the awkward stage is hard but new found strength wins. I worry less (much less) of what others think of me, and I feel so much more beautiful and confident in my ageing skin and silver curls .. I am definitely loving this new more natural me.”

“My first memory of going gray was during my sophomore year of high school. I was sitting in science class when a friend of mine ask to pull one of them out of my head. Ha! I don’t really remember being embarrassed but I guess it was the first time I’d even consciously thought about it. Which is some what surprising as my mother was also full blown gray for almost as long as I remembered her. It was common nature in our household and my mom rocked it always, no problem. Clearly I was not ready to rock that look as a self centered teen who’s self consciousness rules her entity. It took me a good 22 years to finally say, ‘I’ve had it!’ I’m so sick of the skunk stripe that shows up literally every 3 weeks. I have two kids, a part time job at their school, after school activities and I just didn’t have time to dye it myself, let alone the money to go do it professionally in that time frame. So at 36, I grew it out and with the help of my stylist, who I really only booked haircuts, helped me transition into what you see today. I have to say, it’s pretty nice not to have to worry about it and I am honestly lucky at this point in time that gray hair is some what fashionable. Finally rocking it like my mother before me. I don’t know why I questioned doing it for so long. It has always been a part of me and once I had it out for the whole world to see, nothing felt more natural.”

“I was born with a shiny gray patch at a young age and from the time I could remember it was always told to me that it was my birth mark. I would get asked all the time by kids why did I have old people hair in one spot of my head and I would tell them it’s not old people hair and that God gave me special powers. In high school however a strange hair moment happen end of 8th grade it began to turn black which freaked my parents out cause apparently that was unheard of. I definitely became a Debbie downer about it because it made me feel like I was no longer unique. Little did I know on my 16th Birthday that it would yet again debut itself, yep grey spot at the front center of my head. Only one person in my family prior to me has had gray from early on and that’s my Great Grandfather. It is something that we share in common as I’m the 1st great grandchild and the only girl. I had inherited his gene. I wear it like a crown and my as my sacred place for confidence and peace. To me its a badge of honor, its natural and it makes feel beautiful. Hiding it has never been an option. I was told that having gray hair was a sign of wisdom. Today many men and women write me and thank me for 'being brave enough' to rock my gray and thank me for pushing them to do the same. This is my signature look . I’ve heard many rude comments about my gray at such a young age but I’ve her twice as many compliments on my hair from both men and women. And I'm always asked if I dyed my hair to look like it does. I always laugh and say ‘absolutely not, I was born with this. 😊’”

“I’m a 33yo Brazilian woman that lives in the Czech Republic.I have gray hair since I was 13. I started dying my hair because of pressure from family and friends. But I did it by my own terms! I’ve had red, orange, green, blue and purple hair.About 5 years ago, I moved to the CZ with my husband and just got too lazy to keep dying my hair all the time and decided to embrace it!Now I absolutely love my gray afro!”

“My gray journey started at age 21! I started coloring my hair and then at age 30, I developed an allergy to hair color. I HAD to embrace every bit of it, and it was rough at first. There were people telling me to color my hair, and I was growing tired of telling them that I couldn’t. I made the decision to ‘own’ my grays.”

“I truly feel that growing out my grey has been one of the biggest lessons in patience that I have ever experienced. I'm at about 16.5 months into the journey now. I spent 20 years dying my hair and towards the end I was doing weekly root touch ups even as I developed sores on my scalp. I was just never ready to stop. When was the ideal time? Would this negatively impact my life and career? Would I look older? And then after months of indecision, I just stopped. For no real reason... no special occasion. I just stopped out of the blue. The first 6 months were really difficult and I basically processed my anxiety about the whole ‘growing out my hair’ thing by reading the stories of other women, researching all the methods that were used to help transition, and thinking in loops about what I was going to do to make this all end quicker. Should I bleach it? Should I dye it back? Should I cut it all off? Every spin out I was no closer to a decision. I took it as a sign to just let it be. If nothing was sounding appealing, then what did I have to lose by just being patient and seeing how I felt tomorrow. Tomorrows became yesterdays over and over again, and now I don't really think about it much... I just continue to let it be. 16.5 months later, I am starting to feel like myself. A new, different, more patient version of myself.So, here we are in quarantine. All of us waiting for information of when our lives will get back to some form of normal. Many of us filled with anxiety and not sure what this will mean for our lives. We keep researching and googling and trying to find the answer, and nothing is clear. So, all we are really left with is that we have to let it be. There may be tricky moments along the way and we may have a bumpy road to get there, but one day, not so long from now, I think we are all going to wake up to new, different, more patient versions of ourselves.”

“I found my first grey at 24. I had just dyed my hair dark brown after my wedding and there it was. This little bright white strand of glitter sticking right out of the top of my head. I remember thinking at the time "WTF IM ONLY 24 MY LIFE IS JUST STARTING!!". But there it was. Staring right back at me saying "YOU'RE OLD". I wasn't old. And I'm not now. But we're taught that greying means ageing and all of this means we're old. And being old means we're boring and slow and have dinner at 4pm.Of course it didn't stop there. These dreaded silver hairs kept coming and I kept dyeing them away.I remember my mother doing the same when she was about 40. I remember as a child her complaining about this "greyness". I didn't see her natural hair colour again for 20 years.When I did it was a shocking bright white. It had lost its curl (that was she was famous for) and all its pigment. My sister and I had convinced her to stop dyeing her hair after suffering some hair loss.I remember my first thought being "I hope my hair looks like that when I go grey". What I decided then was that I would not put myself through the decades of stress and cover-up. I would be different. I would be brave. I would let myself age.What I didn't know then was that this no dye ageing process would start at 35. When I was a kid only hippies and the no-makeup moms were grey that early.Fast forward to today. I haven't dyed my hair in over a year and my current colour is best described as #greyishblond. I'm greying exactly like my father -early and streaked from my upper temples- and I've connected with some really amazing women who are doing the same.”

“The first time I noticed I had a few greys was back in 2002 during my 2nd year in university. I never really thought about it; if I dyed my hair I dyed it; if not, then not. It was always about the color I wanted at the time rather than hiding my greys. It was only about 18 months ago that I really started noticing how my greys really kicked in and have a style of their own.. Ever since then I left my natural colors be and I couldn’t be happier! I even get stopped by ladies asking me where I got my platinum highlights! I love how unique it is and knowing that no dyed hair can ever look quite the same!"

“Several years ago a close friend died of breast cancer very young. Shortly after that I was diagnosed with atypia in my breast tissue, underwent a minor surgery and was labeled high-risk of developing breast cancer by the medical community. For the next few years I worked hard to remove as many chemicals from my life as possible. I changed my family’s cleaning supplies, our diet, our skin and haircare products and kept studying and reading on reducing risks. Even though there is no direct medical evidence of breast cancer and hair dye in April of 2018 (before picture) I realized that I was not ok with chemicals soaking into my scalp every 5 weeks. My hair stylist, a great high school friend, was not a fan. She might have even “accidentally” put permanent color on my hair last September setting me back several months. I love her, but let someone else handle my hair after that. I cut my hair short to speed up the transition and now there is just a bit of my old color left. Tonight after a fresh cut, the ‘after’ photo, my husband said, ‘It’s all you!’ He is so supportive and loves me being just me. (Plus, now we match!) I can’t say I 100% love it everyday and don’t sometime long for sunkissed beach hair, but I can say I am proud of myself for not continuing to do something I did not want to do for fear of someone thinking I look old.”

“To those of you who are uncertain about embracing your natural gray, I say this: Take a huge, delicious breath and have faith that in a few short months you’ll look back on your decision as one of the most empowering, aligned choices of your life.I’m two years into this journey and my silver stripes are hitting my collarbones now. I see myself in the mirror, and it all finally fits—my 46-year-old face with its soft laugh lines and gentle crow's feet, plus my salt-and-pepper strands. I look like ME, and I am joyfully up to my elbows in the process of learning to love ME, just as I am.This amazing community of #silversisters will hold your hand while you jump into this process. But I promise that soon, you’ll unlace your fingers from ours because you’ll need your wings to fly on your own. You’ll feel free, authentically yourself, and you’ll wonder why you ever thought it was such a big deal to sparkle freely.Oh, and for those awkward moments at cocktail parties, here’s my favorite quip:‘Actually I’m not letting myself go—I’m just letting myself BE.’”

“Owning and exposing my natural grey hair was a peaceful communion with my personal struggles; of self, of family, of femininity, of beauty. The unknown is often the most unexpected expression of contentment. I couldn’t pay for a better colourist. I couldn’t feel more liberated. I couldn’t be more me. I’m thankful for this movement...this allowance, this release, this honesty. It doesn’t deplete beauty; it enhances and encourages it.”

“Last year, my husband and I quit our jobs, sold our home and all our possessions and bought one way tickets to Asia to travel around the world with our two daughters for a year. We both were consumed by jobs that demanded more time at work than with our children or pursuing things that we were passionate about. We decided to make some sweeping changes in order to spend more time together as a family.I knew that I would not be able to keep up with dyeing my hair while traveling, so I stopped dyeing right before we left. But as I moved through the transition process, I struggled a bit with deeply ingrained notions about ‘going gray’ in our culture. These beauty myths kept me stuck in a trance of unworthiness for decades, perpetuating a cycle of dyeing my hair every few weeks out of fear of appearing ‘older.’ On those days where I question things, I have learned to sit in those moments of doubt and uncertainty and work my way through them, recognizing that they are not truths, only myths perpetuated by the beauty and ‘anti-aging’ industry that has a huge financial incentive in keeping women stuck in a shame cycle about aging. I’m glad I stuck with it, because after 10 months, I’ve discovered that my silver hair does not make me look ‘older’; in fact, it looks much more natural and complements my skin tone. I’m embracing this new season of my life instead of fighting against it. Part of this process has involved letting go of others’ opinions and the cultural narrative that has told us that women aging is a negative thing. This last year has involved taking risks, questioning assumptions, reclaiming my power and embracing my true self. I’m immensely grateful to be living a life that feels more authentic, both inside and out.”

“ONE YEAR ago I decided to #grombre 🙌🏼🥳 3 questions I get asked the most: ‘Do you feel older?’ Nope! Still feel like 25 inside even though I’m 37. (Won’t lie though, the first few months seeing myself in the mirror took some adjusting of my mental lense on age and beauty!) ‘I wish I could be as brave as you! How’d you finally decide to do it?’ (this question is asked the most) First of all this decision has *nothing* to do with bravery. Bravery is an honorable word devoted to those deserving it, not for us growing out our gray hairs. I’ve been thinking about growing my hair out for YEARS but it wasn’t until last March I officially decided to. I was asked by a friend to go to a lifelong dream event and turned it down because I couldn’t get in to have my roots covered in time (boxed dyes stopped covering the white for me a few years ago). I’ve never cared what others thought of my white hairs, I just didn’t like the way it looked on my head, didn’t ‘feel’ like me!) Right after I told my friend no and ended the call was my ‘ah ha!’ moment - I was done planning my life around the next root touch up. DONE! And called her right back and said, ‘count me in!’ white hairs and all! ‘Do you miss your dark hair?’ Yes! YES I DOOO! But I know this isn’t the glorified body I’ll be Home in so until then here’s to embracing these shimmering highlights “

“I look like my grandma. As my gray hair filters in, I am just now seeing it. At the end of her life, my proud Mexican-American grandmother had a mass of white hair which she wore in a messy bun daily. Sadly though, I must confess that I have had a difficult time admitting that I ‘look like my grandma’ because I don’t want to see myself as ‘old’. And yet, my grandmother was beautiful. Stories told about her youth always included the fact that she was a beauty, a looker. As she let her white hair have it’s way, she remained not only beautiful, but authentic and bold. Now I am beginning to see things differently. The decision to allow my hair to be it’s natural color is proving to me that I not only look like my dear grandmother, but more importantly, I carry within me her courageous spirit to be myself, to buck the system and to stand tall. This is not ‘old’ it’s ageless.”

“After getting my first gray hairs at 16, I decided 1 year ago to go natural after dying my hair for years. At 35 I had mental health problems, going natural is a part of my healing process to really accept and love myself for who I am. I'm 39 now and very proud of myself able to say I'm ok.”

“My daughter inspired me to stop coloring my hair as she is allowing her grey hair shine through. I have actually never seen my grey and I must admit, I was nervous about what it would look like. I LOVE my natural color! If only I had known how great it would look I never would have colored it! I love the support my daughter gave me to go grey”

"’Your hair are a masterpiece’, it's what a man recently said to me in a museum. Such a nice compliment!I'm 46 now, but I've had gray hair since I was 20 years old, like my mum. When the grey hair was few, I used to put henna, then I began with chemical colors. At the beginning It was not so bad, I could change my color and have some fun, but after fifteen years the fun was gone! Too much time and effort, too much money!I saw my mum at that time. She also put chemicals the all life long and she had so thin hair...so I decided: not chemicals any more! I leave my hair natural. All the family was against this decision. Only a dear friend supported me.But I went ahead and I was proud of it. And I proud of it now. My hair are a particular feature that makes me stand out from other people.So I am!”

“I stopped coloring my hair on my birthday five years ago. I'm 47 now and am often surprised to realize that I'm still only about 85% of the way to accepting my hair. It's so easy to love it when you're receiving compliments. It's very cool like this. Do I still love it when I'm asked if I want the senior discount or I'm told that my mother and I could be sisters? No. I start to wonder what would happen if I colored my hair again. Could I still pass for 40?! This process has forced me to confront my own fears and prejudices relating to aging but, more importantly, it has made it clear to me that I still care too much about what other people think about my hair and my perceived age. It's funny -- I stopped worrying about my very average looking mom body a long time ago and have made peace with it but I still have hang-ups about my hair. I am working through it and it gets easier every year. A 100% gray hair acceptance rate will be mine!!”

“I am 33 and just started a job as an Assistant Professor of Anthropology. I took this selfie the morning of my first big lecture class. My distinguished gray gives me authority in the classroom, but whenever I go home to Texas, my thoughtful mom tries to get me to dye my hair, so I’ll be more attractive to prospective mates...I sometimes worry about aging and looks, but the last time she got me hair dye, I exchanged it for lipstick. I love how my incoming gray hairs are coarse and kinky; I take them as a sign of unruliness in my years of age to come.Oh and I’m wearing my mom’s vintage Liz Claiborne power suit, and that’s my wild office plant Medusa in the background.”

“To the non-grombre ladies... how’s it going w/ your involuntary grow out? Are you freaking out? Are you about to go buy some box-dye? Are you kind curious about maybe just embracing it?Most women I talk to can’t honestly even say what their natural color is anymore. I was like that too, for 16 years.I get what you’re going through right now. Even though my growout was voluntary, I still had the same feelings you have right now. When you look in the mirror you can’t help but immediately glance up, right? You want to just wear your hair up, right? You’re worried people will notice the obvious dye line, even on zoom and FaceTime, right?I just want you to know I get it. The only difference between us is that I chose this. That’s it. So, again, I get the feels.I want to just share with you the thing I ran through my mind when I was in the thick of the growout stress. Even if you’re not ready to embrace this, even if this is temporary until your salon opens up again, even if you breakdown and go buy a box of dye at CVS next week. I just want you to consider one thought:.‘What am I *supposed* to look like?’.The beauty in this world is that you get to control what you look like. And I think you’re killing it. I think you’re beautiful. I think you’re doing a perfect job - and choosing exactly the right colors, and styles, and finishing touches.And I think it could be a good journaling exercise to even consider this question. Even if it’s just for a few moments.I’m so happy I found out what I’m supposed to look like. It went beyond my hair and into my body. I did away with choices that were preventing me from seeing how my whole being is supposed to look, feel, and thrive.What a cool opportunity for you to do the same right now... even if it’s just for a little while, while we all sort this madness out.I love you. You are NOT just your hair. You are an essence, a smile, an aura, and a face of such mysterious life behind your eyes.Breathe easy. We see who you really are. No dye has ever changed that.”

“I had just turned 27 years old. I had just moved into my own apartment. I found myself driving back to my mom's house to dye my hair - I didn't dare to stain my own beautiful, white, bathroom.I had spent the last year on a journey to accept myself. I had gone into therapy, travelled, solo backpacked through the Canadian backyard, heck - I even performed and hosted a stand up comedy show. Yet, there I was - running back to dye my greying hair black.My maternal grandfather was fully grey at 25. My own mother and her sisters have been dying their hair since early 20's. Everyone I knew with grey hair, masked it. I - I wanted to break the chain. I was BORN with grey hair - its not even a symbol of age for me. I grew older, and my greys grew with me. I grew into me and I grew into my silver crown.”

“I found my first grey hair at age 15 and decided to pull it out because who really wants to feel ‘old’ at 15. More sprung up but thankfully in the middle of my head and I became the master of hiding them. As soon as I was given permission to dye my hair at 17, I did. I’ve had pretty much every ‘natural’ looking color in the book from jet black to blonde. My mom is one of 10 kids, six of which are women. Three of them have never dyed their hair and embraced their beautifully grey and silver tresses. I decided to follow their lead. The last time I dyed my hair was March 9, 2018 and I haven’t looked back. In spite of being called ma’am (I don’t live in the south) or called old by my kids, I still feel great and am proud of my grey streaks.”

“As a professional makeup artist and esthetician, I’ve spent over a decade passionately pouring myself into helping other women come to a place of confidence and self acceptance (at every age, but working with women who are 40+ has always felt significant to me). While hiking on a lovely autumn afternoon last year, I had an epiphany. I have not been honoring my own beauty philosophy. I’ve always feared that when I age (specifically when I allow my hair to grow silver), I would somehow become invisible. Through the years, I have witnessed how most beauty brands market to aging women...they make us feel as if we need to be fixed. I believe that we need to be celebrated. And now It’s time for me to celebrate myself.“

“How did I do it? How did I become so okay with going gray? - these are the questions I've been regularly asked.Now, after I've reached one year of going gray, my transition seems so natural and so right, I own it, I don't notice people staring at me anymore (whether they stopped doing so or I stopped looking for their stares). But I still remember the beginning: vulnerable, caring too much about what others say, disliking my reflexion in the mirror, feeling old and ugly. Oh, I would dye my hair immediately at those unconfident times! And I did! After 4 months of growing out!!! I dyed my hair, but the euphoria disappeared too fast - a couple of days after the dye, when my white roots started glimpsing in the sun... That was when I realized there was no way back and re-started growing out. I could keep on self-critisizing or try to find beauty in my transformation. The choice was too obvious for me.I must say that documenting the progress, taking a lot of selfies, trying new hairstyles, changing haircare and my blog helped me greatly to feel confident about my decision, have fun and start to really love my colors! And I enjoy my new hobby - playing with my demarcation line and experimenting with various hairdos!I think that most of our struggles while going gray origin from our self-perception. I often hear that I have beautiful colors in my hair, but a while ago the same colors seemed very ugly to me. So, ladies in struggle, give yourself some time to get used to the new look, to figure it out how to play with hairstyles during the transition, to meet the new YOU on those selfies! And remember that gray hair doesn't make you old or ugly, it makes you look unique with the hair color that no dye can replicate!”

“I started getting white hair in my 30s, and for twenty years I have been diligently and compulsively covering them. Frequent visits to the hairdresser? Me! Mascara or spray to cover the roots? Me! Bad mood when the roots started to appear? Me!Then Covid happened. I took the confinement very seriously here in Paris, and I was lucky as I could work remotely. Home hair coloring is not my thing, so I let the white hair making a bigger appearance, making sure to curb its enthusiasm with dark spray. One day, after the shampoo, it clicked! My white hair appeared shining to me. I said to myself ‘hey, wait a moment, you have silver hair!’ I loved them, I loved my new look, and since that moment there is no turning back.”

“I realized that how covered up my gray hair was was starting to define who I had become and how I viewed myself. The more my TRUE roots were peeking out, the less I felt I had my sh*t together. Even more, the bigger story I was telling myself was that other people didn’t think I had my sh*t together!Have you ever felt that way? Like, how others thought about your appearance was an indicator of how good you looked and how good you felt about yourself?It sounds ridiculous, but somehow, we have been conditioned to think, by some notion set by some unknown standard, that unless we have our grays covered up, we are not caring enough about ourselves.And the crazier thing is that this is not the perception society has with men! When a man starts going salt and peppery, he’s seen as sexy and established. But, when a woman starts showing her grays, there’s a stigma attached to it like there is something wrong with her life. She’s seen as haggard, unkempt, stressed, in distress, problemed, careless, out of control, out of touch…I mean the list of negative thoughts could go on and on!But that’s not how I felt or was! I was none of those things!So at that point, I decided I would stop consuming myself with how much and where the gray was starting to peek out, when my next appointment would be scheduled, and what other people thought my hair reflected about me and what’s going on in my life.”

“I heard there’s a hoarding of hair dye now with the “stay at home” order due to Covid 19. So glad that’s not an issue for me since I decided to let my natural hair grow out and that is one less thing that I don’t have to worry about. During this pandemic, many Individuals are at increased risk for symptoms of anxiety and depression due to financial uncertainties and isolation. If you or a loved one is experiencing this, know that you are not alone and that there are some resources that you can tap into. I recommend Insight Timer, Calm, or Headspace apps for meditation and mindfulness to manage those symptoms. Hang in there, we’re all in this together.”

"When I woke up this morning, I knew something had to change. I was pissed at the world. Pissed at the news. Pissed...... that I got furloughed.... that my husband got a pay-cut.... that my kids are not getting an education.... that they can't see their friends.... that I can't see my friends.... at all the heartache in the world.... that humans can't be together.... pissed that my cousin passed away from COVID-19 yesterday.Fact is, I've been growing my grey out for the past 3 months with the intention of dealing with and documenting the roots and the journey. I thought I would have this long, amazing, liberating story to share with @grombre. But then I woke up this morning, and said "screw this". If I can't change any of the above, I can change my hair. I feel better now.”

“I love photography. I enjoy standing behind the camera more than in front of it, yet I feel comfortable and confident when the lens points at me. This is analog photography though, suddenly a whole different story. My confidence seems to fade away as soon as my boyfriend, a professional photographer, wants to capture me on film. I know there’s no quick displaying of the images as he shoots, there’s no correcting, no preview, no second chance. This is me trying to stop him from taking this shot. I wasn’t wearing any make up, had a bad hair day and felt tired. As soon as he grabs his camera and points at me I feel vulnerable and exposed. But then he makes me laugh, he always makes me laugh .... and shoots. Interesting how this doesn’t happen to me when he shoots digital, I don’t feel as self conscious, I guess I know I can always delete the shot if I don’t look ‘good enough’ then I surely tend to be my own worst critic. I’ve given a lot of thought whether to share this image or not, then although I feel confident in my own skin and don’t need to hide my “imperfections” this appears ‘too natural, too real, too imperfect’ to me. But this is exactly what analog photography is all about. Capturing a moment you can’t recreate, telling a story ... When I look at this image now I remember the moment we shared at the park, I remember him telling me how beautiful I look and me refusing to have my picture taken, because that day, for some reason, I don’t believe it myself. Thank you @_mpix for loving me as I am and for capturing some great moments we shared. I love you “

“Hello I am Jaqueline Bergrós, 30 years old, musical actress from Germany. I had my first grey hair at the age of 18. At this time I didn't think to much about it. At 21 I started to color my hair regularly. At 25 I had to color it every 3 weeks. I was always told that I was too young for white hair. I was constantly asked whether I had a deficiency or a genetic defect. Either way, it was clear to everyone and so for me, I had to hide it. Nobody should see that I have white hair ‘much too early’. Especially in my job. I'm working on stage and I have to be a type at auditions. Who wants to see a grey-haired Jasmine in Aladdin? I was ready to bear more and more allergic reactions, hair breakage and hair loss and considered it to be ‘normal’. The more I colored my white hair, the faster they were visible again. Today I know: my white hair wants to be seen.On March 5th 2020 I colored my hair the last time and decided that my health is more important to me than having brown hair. I don't want to hide and lock myself in a cage any longer. I was very afraid to show myself, especially for negative reactions. Since I let my grey hair grow out, I have received countless compliments and great admiration. I shine in a new light because I am simply me. The way I am. Some even ask me if my grey hair is dyed. Many people simply can't get the picture of a young woman and grey hair together. It is a journey and sometimes it is not easy. I decided to go on this trip and I don't regret a single day. I can't wait to let go the last bit of color and live my gray to the tips.”

“24 weeks into my grey journey Can you see the tiredness in my eyes? A long time ago I realised that my eyes give away pretty much everything A realisation like that at a young age served to make me a particularly honest person. Not because I stood on some moral high ground, but because I simply couldn’t lie very well . Over time, the honesty became habitual and comfortable (thankfully) and I realised it was actually a very simple way to live 🤍But the thought of dishonesty was SO uncomfortable, that whenever people complimented my jet black hair, I’d find myself spluttering and babbling explanations about it being dyed and not really mine etc etc. I’m REALLY looking forward to now just being able to say ‘thank you’ when someone says they like the colour of my grey hair. What a joy it will be to be liberated of this burden I put on myself ”